It’s a well known fact that the crime rate in the Uk has been constantly on the increase over the last decade or so. Only about ten years ago, it was a general belief that having a house alarm system and specially an alarm bell box on the front elevation of one’s property attracted a potential burglar more than being a deterrent. Nowadays, however, a great number of even the most modest looking homes have some kind of security Alarm installed. It now seems like those houses which don’t have a home alarm system are more prone to get burgled than those which haven’t.

Also people tend to think that houses in urban areas or near town centres have a greater need for a home security system than those in rural or secluded areas. In fact what they don’t realise is that potential burglars don’t actually live in those secluded areas but generally come from other locations. Therefore the installation of a security alarm system in those supposedly remote and safe areas is just as necessary.

Some people, for the sake of keeping the costs down, choose to have a bells only alarm system, again not realising that under current noise regulations, the external sounder is fitted with a timer which shuts it off after a maximum time limit of twenty minutes. It is therefore highly recommended that an intruder alarm system has a facility of alerting the key holders. Most makes of alarm systems on the market today can be connected to an Alarm receiving Centre which will in turn contact the nominated key holders upon receiving an alarm activation. There is, however, a monitoring cost involved. Should police response also be required, there is a one off police registration fee and the monitoring costs are usually slightly higher. Intruder alarm systems can also contact designated key holders via a speech dialler which can alert up to four contacts. Although this is a cheaper way of contacting key holders upon the burglar alarm going off, it does not provide the personal contact that a recognised monitoring centre does and also the police cannot be alerted upon intruder alarm activations as in the case of a monitored alarm system.

It has to be remembered also most people who have a house security system installed at their premises only switch the system on when they are away from home and do not realise that a great number of burglaries occur on the ground floor whilst the occupiers are actually sleeping upstairs. It is highly recommended that their home alarm system is armed in a part set mode which will still protect the areas where there is not likely to be any movement. Most burglar alarms are designed to incorporate one or more personal attack buttons which the occupier can activate should they suspect an intruder being on the premises and if their security alarm happens to be a monitored one, the police can also contacted.

The basics of a burglar alarm system that you need to know:

There are three main components of basic burglar alarms that you will need to know if you are considering installing any of these in order to prevent a burglar from breaking into your house or premises. They are:

* The control panel

* Additional detection devices

* A siren or a sounding device

Your control panel acts as the brain of your alarm system as it processes critical information that is received from the detection devices integrated in your system in order to decide what action should be taken when the alarm is triggered. Depending on how you have programmed your alarm system, the siren can go off immediately after the alarm is triggered or there can be a time delay.

If your alarm system is connected to a monitoring system there will be no need for a siren to go off when the alarm is triggered. This is because the monitoring company usually contacts you, your key holders and also the police department when the alarm is set off. You can also use your keypad unit or a key fob for arming or disarming your burglar alarm. You can also program it to include or omit different zones within the home or around your property if you want.

Basically alarm systems are of two types. They are:

* Wired alarms

* Wireless alarms

Wired alarms are usually larger than wireless alarms. It is relatively easier to setup a wireless alarm system rather than a wired alarm system.

Basic applications

Burglar alarms usually operate using up to six different types of different detectors:

ultrasonic

photo-electric beams

passive infrared

microwave

glass-break

carbon monoxide, heat, and smoke

The security surveyor can usually advise you which of the above detection devices are most suitable for you r premises.